The Five Year Hitch
by Cherub Tattoo
Summary: A story full of romance and adventure, about the Doctor and Rose Tyler, with references to episodes including Doomsday and The Last of the Time Lords. Dr. Who and related characters are the property of the owners.


THE night has a thousand eyes,

And the day but one;

Yet the light of a bright world dies

When day is done.

The mind has a thousand eyes,

And the heart but one;

Yet the light of a whole life dies

When love is done.

**Francis William Bourdillon**

It was five Earth years ago to the very day that the Doctor lost his assistant, Rose Tyler forever. It was the battle of two of the most ruthless and evil armies the Doctor had ever come up against. It was the Daleks versus the Cybermen. They both lost.

They had managed to come to planet Earth via a breach at Torchwood; the scientific institute based at Canary Wharf, set up by Queen Victoria, purely for the protection of her Kingdom against alien forces.

This breach was a hole opening the Void between our universe and a _parallel_ one. In the other universe, Rose Tyler did not exist. Her father, Pete, who had perished twenty years before the battle in our universe, was alive and well in the other. Her mother, Jackie, who was alive and well in our universe, had died a terrible death in the other. The year before, the Doctor and Rose had been to this other universe with their friend and comrade Mickey. It happened purely by mistake. It is impossible to go to a parallel universe, but it happened, and Rose had to see her mother (in that universe) destroyed, and her brain harvested in the body of a Cyberman. Mickey decided not to return to our universe, but to continue the fight against evil alien forces there. Rose returned with the Doctor.

Pete Tyler had come through the breach on the day of the battle to try to fight the Cybermen, along with Mickey and his special team of soldiers. By chance, Pete was reunited with Jackie. Both were supposed to be dead to each other. It was obviously meant to be. They decided she would be going back through the breach as well, so she could spend the rest of her life with her husband.

The Daleks and the Cybermen had a common goal when they came through the breach; to destroy Earth and every living creature on it. But the Doctor wasn't about to let that happen. His sole purpose in his long life was to stop anything not of Earth trying to destroy its people.

However, the only way the Doctor could stop them this time was to reverse the operation that opened the breach, and send everything that had ever come from the other universe, back into it. The breach would then be closed for eternity, and nothing would be able to come back from there ever again.

Because of the Doctor's plan, he and Rose would be sucked back through the breach too. He decided Rose needed to be with her parents, but due to the nature of his life as a Time Lord, and his work, he truly belonged in this universe.

He concocted an idea that would involve using magnetic Torchwood clamps; two hand-held devices that can hold abundant weight and make it seem weightless to the person holding them. He would hold onto them while everything got sucked back through the other universe.

It was then he discovered Rose had stronger feelings for him than he'd ever thought. In her heart, she couldn't bear the thought of living in a world where he didn't exist. She saw her only choice was to stay with him for the rest of her life, even if he'd never feel the same way, even if it meant being without her mother forever. She told him she would hold on to one clamp and he could hold on to the other one while everything else was being sucked in.

The curse of the Time Lords; the Doctor's race; meant they lived, in effect, forever. They could die if they so wished, but tragically he was the only one of his kind left, and he had to use his long life and his god-given abilities to fight for the human race. However, this meant anyone he got close to would eventually grow old and die, while he stayed young. He couldn't bear the heartbreak, so he'd always chosen to let the people he loved go, so they could live their lives without him, long before mortality's cold hand could swoop on his dreams and crush them. He would never allow himself to even hope that anyone could love him so much that they'd be prepared to give up even their family for him. He had to stay strong and fight. And yet, he was getting that hope now, from Rose. He had to block those thoughts out. He had to shake off his feelings for her. He had to fight, he had to be strong, but Rose would not leave him. It was what he loved most about her, her determination. He decided she could stay with him, but he still couldn't let himself feel anything.

He ordered her as his assistant to help him set the operation up, to send the evil Daleks and the Cybermen back. She followed, and it all happened so quickly. They held on tightly to the clamps. Pete, Jackie and Mickey went through the breach, then the Cybermen and the Daleks were sent flying through. However, one of the huge levers keeping the breach open was starting to slip. The Doctor felt the whole plan was going to fail and Earth would be destroyed, but Rose instinctively let go of her clamp so she could put the lever back up. She successfully locked it, but then her hand started to slip due to the suction of the breach. The Doctor ordered her to hold on. It was no use. She was sent flying back through the breach and into the Void. Luckily her father was there to grab her and take her to Jackie, so she was safe. More Daleks and Cybermen followed, until they had all gone through. Then the breach closed up. Forever. Rose was gone forever. There was nothing he could do.

Rose felt more for this one man than she had felt for anyone in her life. Even her own mother. She would die for him. She would kill for him. He was the epitome of everything she held dear; respect, integrity, love and care for all living things. She loved him, and now she would never be with him again. Rose was stuck in this alternate reality forever. Her dreams were shattered. Her life, as far as she knew it, was over. She was delighted to have her father and mother, but nothing could ease the pain she felt from being separated from the Doctor.

A day after the Dalek versus Cybermen battle, she was recruited by Torchwood to help their investigations. The money meant she could live a comfortable life, but the only reason she accepted the work was because it meant carrying on the work she and the Doctor had loved doing together.

She soon started hearing a voice whispering her name. She immediately recognized it as the Doctor's. At first she thought she was dreaming; that it must have been a symptom of her grief. But it happened while she was awake. It was unmistakable. She decided the voice must have a meaning. It must have been calling her to someplace. She told Pete, Mickey and Jackie she would follow it. They thought she'd lost her mind. Pete tried telling her again and again that she was imagining it, that the doctor was lost to them, but her resolve was unstoppable. Rose told them she was going and that was that. This worried them tremendously. She had lost a lot of weight since the battle. She was at Torchwood practically twenty four hours a day, seven days a week; she hardly touched the food Jackie cooked. Jackie told Rose if that was what she wanted to do, they would go with her. If it was something that might make her daughter feel better, then she would support her all the way.

Three months after the battle, they ended up on a desolate beach in Bad Wolf Bay, in Norway. The voice was so loud it was giving Rose a headache. She walked along the beach for a few hours, leaving Jackie, Pete and Mickey on their own. Then it happened. He appeared, the Doctor. It was like receiving a large dose of morphine after being stabbed.

He was in his Tardis. He was projecting himself as a hologram, thanks to some residual energy left over from the breach. The sight of her brought him so much joy.

They made small talk. She told him she was working at the other Torchwood. Her mother was three months' pregnant. She wanted so much to hug him, to stroke his hair. But she couldn't touch him. They only had two minutes to speak and then they would never see each other ever again. She couldn't control herself. The tears rolled down her cheeks. Rose decided she needed to tell him what she'd stopped herself from saying, even to herself, for a long time. It didn't matter if he didn't feel the same way now. She started to say it but she stumbled, nearly choking from the grief. She looked him in the eye, and decided it was now or never.

"I love you!" She cried. Then he started to speak. Tears were flowing from his eyes too. It was like time stopped.

"Well, I guess this is the last chance I'm going to get to say it! Rose Tyler…" Then he was gone. She couldn't believe he was going to say it back to her, but it was all there. He didn't get a chance to say it though. He disappeared. She completely broke down in tears and her mother ran to her to comfort her.

When Rose Tyler told the Doctor she loved him, the feeling he experienced was amazing. His two hearts were racing when he caught sight of her, but when she said those words to him, he could barely breathe from all the emotions; grief, joy, regret, anger and love. He so wanted to say the words back to her. He wanted them to be together, but they were apart for all eternity, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He had to get on with his life's work and continue the fight for humanity.

Five years on, the Doctor had made up his mind. He'd lived five long years without her. He'd had different assistants, regenerated, fought lots of battles. However, those feelings never went away. He never stopped thinking about her. He'd loved all his assistants dearly, but with Rose it was different. It was a love he'd never felt before. It gave him thoughts that constantly haunted him. Sometimes it made fighting for the human race seem worthless, and that scared him. What scared him the most though, was that he was prepared to stop regenerating and live a mortal life, if it could mean having Rose back. He didn't think he was capable of loving someone that much. He'd stopped himself from having feelings like that a long time ago. Or so he'd thought.

About two year ago he decided Rose was worth everything. He decided he'd continue living his "normal" life as a Time Lord, while trying to think of a way to be able to cross over to the other universe. Before all this had happened, he wouldn't have bothered. He would have dismissed the very idea as being "impossible", but things were different now. The Void had been crossed on two separate occasions, so it couldn't be impossible.

The answer came from the unlikeliest of sources - his arch nemesis and fellow Time Lord, the Master. In the time since Rose's departure, the Master had reappeared after a long absence, taken the Doctor hostage and tried to conquer the world. He turned it into a sinister Big Brother, with everyone's every move being watched and scrutinized. He killed people just to prove a point. However, he didn't count on the Doctor's new assistant. While the Doctor was being kept as the Master's prisoner and punch bag, Martha was out doing the Doctor's work, traveling the world, finding ways of infiltrating the Master's headquarters while spreading the word about the Doctor. In the end, they managed to defeat the Master and turn the clock back, so none of it ever happened. The Master died, but the Doctor was far from happy about it. He'd just rediscovered another Time Lord. For despite being evil, despicable and loathsome, he was the Doctor's kind. And the key to the Doctor's happiness lay there all along.

The Master left a few gadgets behind, one being an inter-dimensional talisman. It was an ancient relic from the history of the Time Lords. The Doctor never believed it existed. He'd dismissed it as myth a long time ago. One day, he was doing some routine maintenance work in the Tardis, when he discovered it inside a control box. The Master must have put it there, intending to use it later to bring evil forces from other universes to theirs. The object looked similar to an old-style telephone, except it had the legend Gallifrey inscribed on it. He'd read about it in an old book written by his forefathers, but now it was real; tangible. He felt bemused and delighted at the same time. He spent months studying it, scrutinizing it, trying to figure out how to use the device. He eventually worked out that it needs to be connected to the main power in the Tardis, and all he would have to do was think of the dimension he wanted to visit, and he would be through the Void and at his destination in a matter of seconds. The only problem was, it took up a significant amount of the Tardis' power. So much so, that the Tardis would have to be kept offline for at least a month after its use, and even then it would require extensive work to restore it to full power.

It was five years ago today since the battle, and the Doctor decided the time was right. He traveled to Torchwood to speak to Captain Jack Harkness, who was in charge. He told him he might be gone a while, and it was possible he might not be able to return, but he would not tell him where he was going. He would not tell anyone. It was his dark secret. He was confident Harkness would be able to continue the Doctor's work. He left Harkness with a list of instructions for certain eventualities, then he was gone.

Once back inside the Tardis, he put the receiver of the Talisman to his ear, and whispered confidently "Rose Tyler." There was a blinding flash of light, bolts of electricity shot around the Tardis, then there was nothing, silence. Then all of a sudden, a blinding white light surrounded him. He waited, and waited, but it wouldn't stop. He was beginning to feel ill. He had no choice but to step out of the Tardis. He was still in Torchwood. But now it was certainly different.

He found himself surrounded by soldiers in camouflage, pointing machine guns at him. He looked behind him, the Tardis had vanished. He felt in his pocket. He still had the sonic screwdriver. That was a relief!

"Surrender!" One of the soldiers cried. The Doctor obeyed, and put his hands up.

"Identify yourself!" He ordered.

"I am the Doctor." The soldier frowned. The others appeared to get angry. The soldier who ordered the Doctor pulled a walkie-talkie out and spoke into it.

"Boss, I think you should come down here. We've got someone claiming to be the Doctor. Over. " The Doctor was even more bemused. He _was_ the Doctor. He started to speak. The soldier who ordered him clicked the trigger on his gun. The soldiers all continued pointing their weapons at him, and he continued holding his hands up. They were beginning to ache. Suddenly, a woman emerged, wearing a suit. It was Rose! She was in charge of the soldiers! The relief and the delight he felt at seeing her was uncontainable. He couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Hello there! Who did you say you were?" She asked, smiling, in a friendly tone.

"The Doctor! Rose, it's me!" He grinned.

Suddenly, she pulled a gun out of her pocket, and shot him twice. Once in the right shoulder, and once on the left leg. He collapsed, unconscious on the floor.

"McGrath, put him in the infirmary. I'll decide on his sentence tomorrow morning." She turned on her heels and walked off.

The Doctor woke up, in a daze. He was in the Torchwood Institute Infirmary. He tried to recollect what just happened. He saw Rose, he told her he was the Doctor, and she pulled a gun on him. He looked down. She'd shot him twice, but why? Five years ago she'd told him she loved him, but now he was her enemy. Why? He slapped his forehead. Of course, he'd regenerated over a year ago. He now had blonde hair and hazel eyes. He just had to show her the Tardis and she'd believe him.

He got up off the bed. He winced with pain. He limped down the corridor and saw someone he recognized. Mickey! He ran excitedly towards him. Mickey was wearing a sharp suit.

"Mickey!" He shouted, then winced again. His leg was giving him excruciating pain.

"Do I know you bro?" He eyed the Doctor suspiciously.

"It's me, the Doctor!" He smiled at Mickey.

"Oh, wicked! It's been a long time, man!" Mickey relaxed his face, took his hand and gave him a hug. He stepped back, then grabbed him roughly by his collar.

"Listen up, my co-manager, Miss Tyler to you, told me about you." He snarled. "The Doctor was a very good friend of ours. He saved our lives, over, and over. He was one of the best men that could ever exist! But he was gone from our lives a long time ago! Miss Tyler was his assistant. She made plans to work with him for her whole life. Then he was gone. She had to rebuild her life completely, without him, and start afresh in a world that was completely new to her!" He saw some of the nurses were looking at them strangely, and he let go. He started to whisper. "If you don't want your other leg shot, I suggest you stop trying to kid people. Pretending to be the Doctor can cost you your life if you're not careful, and between you and me, if I ever hear you call yourself that ever again, I'll kill you myself… but Miss Tyler is debating whether to keep you prisoner as we speak."

"But!..." Mickey stormed off.

The Doctor decided there was only one thing for it. He had to see Rose and make her believe him. He'd forgotten he'd planned for this eventuality before he'd even found the talisman.

He walked out of the infirmary and saw McGrath a few yards away from him.

"I'm really sorry, mate." The Doctor punched McGrath and knocked him unconscious. He dragged him into a little side room. He re-emerged five minutes later, wearing his uniform. He locked the door with his sonic screwdriver and spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"I need to report to Miss Tyler, urgently. Where can I find her? Over." Ten seconds later, a voice spoke.

"Miss Tyler is in sector 12. Over"

He walked around Torchwood unnoticed for ten minutes, trying to find sector 12. Then he found it. It was a huge office inside glass walls. He peered inside. It had red walls, shagpile carpets, a huge mahogany desk and a big leather chair, facing the window, with dozens of bookcases all around. Then he looked at the walls. There, on the left side, was a huge picture of himself and Rose. It was taken a few weeks before the battle. They were both grinning. Carefree. A tear fell from his right eye.

"Come on, pull yourself together man. You've defeated the Daleks. You can do this!"

He opened the door and slowly edged into the room. The chair swung round. Rose glared at him.

"You! You scumbag! How did you?-" Before Rose had a chance to enquire, the Doctor looked directly into her eyes, pointed the sonic screwdriver at himself and flicked a switch on his. He slowly levitated off the floor. Her face contorted into an expression of sheer confusion and horror. He started screaming, then he fell onto the floor. She got up, out of her chair and rushed towards him.

He stood up. She stopped. There he was. It was undeniable. It was the Doctor, as she had known him before she got trapped in this universe. It was impossible. Of all the nights she'd spent dreaming of this, of all the ways she imagined she'd react; now it was reality and she was frozen to the spot, speechless with shock. All she'd done over the past five years was work, work and work. She had no time for lovers. Mickey had tried, bless him, but there could only ever be one man for her, and here he was, yet there was still a part of her refusing to believe, refusing to raise her hopes up for them to be completely shattered, because that would destroy her once and for all. Her eyes started welling up with tears. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"Why…why are you doing this to me? You are not the Doctor. He's in a parallel universe. The last time I ever saw that man was five long, difficult years ago…"

"Yesterday." He said, solemnly. She slapped him across the face.

"How dare you! How dare you know something like that!" She screamed. She got her gun out again and pointed it at his head.

He closed his eyes, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and pressed a button on it. Slowly, the Tardis emerged.

The gun fell from her hand. She ran to him and embraced him. Then she broke down in tears. He couldn't help but do the same. Then she started laughing, and so did he. She pulled herself away from him. Then her scooped her up into his arms and swung her around.

"But how…" She began to ask. He put an index finger to her lips.

"The hows, the whens, the whats don't matter Rose." He kissed her forehead. "What matters is the whys. There is only one why." He paused for a second to look at her. "You." He kissed her on the lips. She ran a hand down from his forehead to his chin, blinking back tears. She slowly moved closer to his face, looked deep into his eyes, and they passionately kissed.

Suddenly, a group of soldiers burst into the room, including the real McGrath.

"This man knocked me unconscious and stole my clothes. Do you want me to shoot him, boss?" McGrath shouted. Rose and the Doctor were still kissing. "Boss!" McGrath shouted louder. Rose broke free of the Doctor's embrace and turned to McGrath.

"Does it look like I want you to shoot him, McGrath?" She shouted back. "Clear off!" The soldiers slowly retreated from the room. Rose turned back to the Doctor.

"I think we should go somewhere we can talk properly." She said.

"That might be an idea." He replied. "Can I buy a new suit first?"

Rose laughed at him.

"What?" He looked puzzled.

They walked out of the building holding hands, and didn't stop until they reached a small café. They ordered coffee and sat down opposite each other, holding hands across the table.

"Doctor, there's something I think we really should discuss."

"What might that be then?" He smiled at her cheerfully. She broke free of his gaze and looked at menu.

"That day on Bad Wolf Bay…" She trailed off nervously

"Yeah?"

"It doesn't matter." She smiled.

He stood up, got a teaspoon and tapped it on his mug, making everyone look around at them. Rose looked embarrassed.

"I have announcement to make to this woman. It's something I haven't said before, and really meant what I said." He said loudly. "Rose Tyler…I love you." Everyone in the café clapped.

She smiled broadly and started laughing. She got her purse out and put money on the table to pay for the coffee. She took his hand and confidently led him out of the café.


End file.
